nils_0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Violence, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Gore, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
naomi_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Xenophobia, War, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and Fatphobia
macliffe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Violence
Minor: Racism and Ableism
mardana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Torture, Drug use, Genocide, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Addiction, Cannibalism, Violence, War, and Blood
Minor: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Colonisation
brnineworms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler
He takes on various names and titles over the course of the story (Duke Paul Atreides, the Kwisatz Haderach, the Lisan al Gaib, Muad’Dib, Usul) and these personas seem to supersede any true sense of self he may have once had. His identity fractures and frays at the climax; not only does he flit back and forth between multiple selves, he also refers to them in the third person and assigns them different motives and personalities (“You have the word of a Duke [...] but Muad’Dib is another matter.”) I don’t know if I’d insist that Paul is plural, but his selfhood is certainly compromised and complicated by all these assumed identities.Spoiler
Paul has a drug-induced epiphany late in the novel wherein he claims women are givers and men are takers, and that he himself is “the fulcrum” who cannot give without taking nor take without giving.Spoiler
He starts off as a vague force of evil that influences the actions of others, only becoming a fully fledged character after the betrayal of Duke Leto.Does Dune deserve four and a half stars? Probably not. Am I going to give it four and a half stars anyway? You bet. It’s not beyond criticism (far from it) but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m curious to see where the story goes from here and I’ve already ordered Dune Messiah, but I won’t be reading it just yet because I have quite a backlog of unread books to work through first.
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, War, Addiction, Gore, Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Self harm
nicolepaul_ine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: War, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, and Murder
kristinallard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Violence, War, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Death
lanid's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Slavery, and War
melancholymegs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Slavery, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, and Child death
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, and Pedophilia
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Suicide, Torture, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Death